A residential cruise ship that was supposed to travel around the world has been stuck in Northern Ireland for the past three months.
22.08.2024 - 15:49 / skift.com / Ron Desantis / Sean Oneill
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 22, 2024, and now, here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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The world’s largest hotel groups have made huge strides in signing up guests for their loyalty programs in recent years. But which one has the largest loyalty program? Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill provides the answer.
Marriott has the largest loyalty program membership with more than 210 million members as of June 30. Hilton, IHG, and Wyndham occupy the next three spots, with each of them recording more than 100 million members. Skift reported earlier this year that Hilton has grown its loyalty program faster than Marriott, which could result in Hilton overtaking Marriott’s membership count next year.
Next, Expedia’s short-term rental platform Vrbo is portraying itself as a stress-free alternative to rivals like Airbnb in its latest campaign, writes reporter James Farrell.
Vrbo’s new campaign is centered around the slogan “Relax, you host on Vrbo.” While none of Vrbo’s ads directly mention Airbnb, Farrell notes Vrbo is taking veiled shots at its biggest rival, explaining the big differences between the two platforms — like Vrbo’s tendency to attract longer-term guests and its fledgling OneKey rewards program. Airbnb is considered an outlier in the hospitality industry due to its lack of a loyalty program.
One Vrbo ad featuring a man and a boy relaxing in a fishing boat invites hosts to “sit back and attract repeat guests” at their properties.
Finally, Visit Florida has removed an LGBTQ Travel page from its website. Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam examines the impact of its move.
The page provided information on LGBTQ-friendly beaches, destinations, businesses and museums. Habtemariam notes Visit Florida’s decision could further damage relations with LGBTQ travelers, two years after Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics. .
Former Visit St. Pete-Clearwater CEO David Downing said the DMO used to have strong marketing efforts with the LGBTQ community. Other destination marketing organizations in Florida have kept similar pages geared toward LGBTQ travelers on their websites.
For more travel stories and deep dives into the latest trends, head to skift.com.
A residential cruise ship that was supposed to travel around the world has been stuck in Northern Ireland for the past three months.
Visit Florida made its first public comment Wednesday about the removal of its “LGTBQ Travel” page, after more than a week of no explanation of why it was taken down.
“An unexplored territory….Untouched. Uncharted.” That’s the message in Saudi Arabia’s new global tourism campaign to attract overseas travelers to the kingdom.
Fans of upscale cruises are about to have a new option for sailings to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.
Alva Vanderbilt's 39th birthday present from her husband was a 140,000-square-foot summer "cottage" on the shores of Newport, Rhode Island.
For years, L.G.B.T.Q. people planning a trip to Florida could turn to the official website for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing organization, for resources on where to go, what to eat and where to stay. While there are other resources for queer travelers, the site offered information about L.G.B.T.Q.-owned businesses that visitors could patronize as well as activities “appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance,” a page on the site once read.
Aug 27, 2024 • 5 min read
Dozens of global carriers have secured more than 550 orders for Airbus' newest narrowbody plane, the Airbus A321XLR, since its 2019 launch.
As summer begins to wind down, travelers are starting to hunt for bargains on fall and winter travel. Allegiant Airlines, a discount carrier based in Las Vegas, recently released tons of deals on flights for under $50 on theirdeals section throughout November, which they describe as a «great value.» Customers can get flights to popular destinations throughout Florida including Tampa and Orlando, as well as vacation spots such as Vegas or Nashville.
Visit Florida has taken down its “LGBTQ Travel” page, a decision that could further damage relations with the LGBTQ community. And at least one other destination marketing organization in the state – Visit Lauderdale – has publicly distanced itself from the move.
The world’s largest hotel groups have made great strides in signing up guests for their loyalty programs in the past several years, and Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG have enjoyed some of the greatest gains.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, August 21, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.